Copy and paste this worksheet as a separate page linked to the Homepage of your portfolio. DO NOT type your answers on THIS document because it needs to be used by other students. The title of your page which replies to these questions is linked to your portfolio and should begin with the first initials of your first and last name. (In my case, the link to this worksheet from my portfolio page might well read frweddingband.)
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, September 1). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0. You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play takes place in South Carolina during 1918, so World War I was taking place as well as the Spanish influenza epidemic. The play opens in the backyard of a home in a poor black community, and a woman named Mattie is scolding her daughter, Teeta, for losing a quarter. Meanwhile, another woman in the neighborhood, Julia, and her white partner, Herman, are approaching their tenth anniversary together. They are not married because South Carolina law forbids interracial marriage. Everyone, including Julia's neighbors and Herman's mother, do not approve of Herman and Julia's relationship.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students. The intrusion occurs when Herman falls ill. In this moment, the characters know that Herman will die, and the dream of him and Julia moving north to finally be married is crushed. In the moment that he falls ill in Julia's home, much of the interracial tensions in the south are seen. Herman's mother does not want to get help for him until night falls so that no one will see that he was in a black neighborhood.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? This is the day that Herman and Julia's dream of moving north to be married finally begins to look like a reality. Herman purchases a ticket for Julia to go ahead and move, and he promises he will meet her there in a year since he will have paid off the loan to his mother by then. Unfortunately, this dream is shattered when Herman falls ill.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) The first dramatic question is: will Herman and Julia be able to move north so that they can be together? After Herman becomes inflicted with the influenza, the question becomes: will Herman recover from the illness? The audience learns by the end of the play that the answer to both of these questions is, unfortunately, no. Herman succumbs to the influenza, and the dream of moving north dies with him.
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play. Julia wants to marry Herman, but she faces many obstacles. First, Julia must face society because not only is an interracial couple frowned upon by both whites and blacks, but also interracial marriage is forbidden by law. The next obstacle Julia faces is against others. She has to constantly move from place to place because of her neighbors' disapproval of her relationship. The final obstacle that keeps Julia from getting to what she was is against the natural forces of the Spanish influenza. The influenza takes Herman away from her, which ultimately ends the chance of Julia getting what she wants.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band. The first most theatrical moment occurs in the opening scene in which Teeta loses the quarter. This scene shows the impoverishment in this community. Another theatrical moment occurs when Herman collapses from the Spanish influenza, and Julia and Herman's mother, Thelma, argue over getting him help. Another theatrical moment occurs when Herman gives Julia two tickets to New York, but instead she gives them and the wedding band to Mattie and her child's father.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) One image in the play is the quarter that Teeta loses in the opening of the play. Her mother, Mattie, is scolding her over 25 cents, which to us seems like an insignificant amount. Mattie's anger towards Teeta losing a quarter represents how truly impoverished this community is.
Another image seen in the play is the wedding band that Herman gives to Julia. She has to wear the band on a chain around her neck since it is illegal for her and Herman to be married. This action symbolizes the discrimination that interracial couples faced in the Deep South during the early 20th century. Another image in the play is the tickets that Herman purchases so that he and Julia can go live the life they dreamed of together in the north. Julia gives the tickets to Mattie and her child's father, which symbolizes that Julia has accepted the reality that she and Herman will never be able to be married.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band. The themes of discrimination, love despite difficult circumstances, and basic human rights are all explored in this play. Herman and Julia are just as in love as any other couple, but because of the color of their skin, they cannot get married. Although they are forbidden this basic right, they stay together for ten years until death parts them.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think? Even though they aren't legally married, Julia shows Herman more love than his actual family does. When Herman falls ill in her home, Julia wants to seek help for him immediately. However, his mother and sister are embarrassed for him to be seen in a black neighborhood, so they would rather wait until night falls to get him help so that the darkness covers him. Julia cared so deeply for him that she didn't care what people thought of her and Herman's relationship in that moment; she just wanted him to receive treatment for his illness.
DEADLINE: Please complete all of your work on this play by Friday, September 1.
Wedding Band WorksheetCopy and paste this worksheet as a separate page linked to the Homepage of your portfolio. DO NOT type your answers on THIS document because it needs to be used by other students. The title of your page which replies to these questions is linked to your portfolio and should begin with the first initials of your first and last name. (In my case, the link to this worksheet from my portfolio page might well read frweddingband.)
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, September 1). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Wedding Band. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play takes place in South Carolina during 1918, so World War I was taking place as well as the Spanish influenza epidemic. The play opens in the backyard of a home in a poor black community, and a woman named Mattie is scolding her daughter, Teeta, for losing a quarter. Meanwhile, another woman in the neighborhood, Julia, and her white partner, Herman, are approaching their tenth anniversary together. They are not married because South Carolina law forbids interracial marriage. Everyone, including Julia's neighbors and Herman's mother, do not approve of Herman and Julia's relationship.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? NOTE: Arguments might be made for several different points where stasis is broken. Be prepared to defend your point of view, if different from other students.
The intrusion occurs when Herman falls ill. In this moment, the characters know that Herman will die, and the dream of him and Julia moving north to finally be married is crushed. In the moment that he falls ill in Julia's home, much of the interracial tensions in the south are seen. Herman's mother does not want to get help for him until night falls so that no one will see that he was in a black neighborhood.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
This is the day that Herman and Julia's dream of moving north to be married finally begins to look like a reality. Herman purchases a ticket for Julia to go ahead and move, and he promises he will meet her there in a year since he will have paid off the loan to his mother by then. Unfortunately, this dream is shattered when Herman falls ill.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The first dramatic question is: will Herman and Julia be able to move north so that they can be together? After Herman becomes inflicted with the influenza, the question becomes: will Herman recover from the illness? The audience learns by the end of the play that the answer to both of these questions is, unfortunately, no. Herman succumbs to the influenza, and the dream of moving north dies with him.
5. Use Julia to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual or individuals, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles in the play.
Julia wants to marry Herman, but she faces many obstacles. First, Julia must face society because not only is an interracial couple frowned upon by both whites and blacks, but also interracial marriage is forbidden by law. The next obstacle Julia faces is against others. She has to constantly move from place to place because of her neighbors' disapproval of her relationship. The final obstacle that keeps Julia from getting to what she was is against the natural forces of the Spanish influenza. The influenza takes Herman away from her, which ultimately ends the chance of Julia getting what she wants.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Wedding Band.
The first most theatrical moment occurs in the opening scene in which Teeta loses the quarter. This scene shows the impoverishment in this community. Another theatrical moment occurs when Herman collapses from the Spanish influenza, and Julia and Herman's mother, Thelma, argue over getting him help. Another theatrical moment occurs when Herman gives Julia two tickets to New York, but instead she gives them and the wedding band to Mattie and her child's father.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Wedding Band. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
One image in the play is the quarter that Teeta loses in the opening of the play. Her mother, Mattie, is scolding her over 25 cents, which to us seems like an insignificant amount. Mattie's anger towards Teeta losing a quarter represents how truly impoverished this community is.
Another image seen in the play is the wedding band that Herman gives to Julia. She has to wear the band on a chain around her neck since it is illegal for her and Herman to be married. This action symbolizes the discrimination that interracial couples faced in the Deep South during the early 20th century. Another image in the play is the tickets that Herman purchases so that he and Julia can go live the life they dreamed of together in the north. Julia gives the tickets to Mattie and her child's father, which symbolizes that Julia has accepted the reality that she and Herman will never be able to be married.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Wedding Band.
The themes of discrimination, love despite difficult circumstances, and basic human rights are all explored in this play. Herman and Julia are just as in love as any other couple, but because of the color of their skin, they cannot get married. Although they are forbidden this basic right, they stay together for ten years until death parts them.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Wedding Band? Perhaps you might argue for several different kinds of family in this particular play. What do you think?
Even though they aren't legally married, Julia shows Herman more love than his actual family does. When Herman falls ill in her home, Julia wants to seek help for him immediately. However, his mother and sister are embarrassed for him to be seen in a black neighborhood, so they would rather wait until night falls to get him help so that the darkness covers him. Julia cared so deeply for him that she didn't care what people thought of her and Herman's relationship in that moment; she just wanted him to receive treatment for his illness.
DEADLINE: Please complete all of your work on this play by Friday, September 1.